US EditionFrench Town Forced to Remove Israeli Flags, Mayor Replaces Them with Hostage Photos in Defiant Response
- Following an order from an administrative court, the Israeli flags that had been displayed at Nice’s City Hall since October 7, 2023, were taken down under the direction of Mayor Christian Estrosi.
- The court ordered the removal of the flags, emphasizing that government buildings must remain politically impartial and should not exhibit foreign flags as signs of political expression.
- Estrosi adhered to the court order by removing the Israeli flags and substituting them with photographs of individuals captured in Gaza by Hamas, as well as two French detainees imprisoned in Iran since May 2022.
- Estrosi affirmed on X that he remains committed to combating antisemitism and anti-Zionism in all their manifestations and rejected any comparison of Hamas with a humanitarian gesture.
- This episode highlights tensions over symbols in public spaces, with opponents accusing Estrosi of supporting Israel while he pledges ongoing commitment to combating antisemitism.
26 Articles
26 Articles
French court orders Nice municipality to remove Israeli flags
A French court on Thursday ordered the mayor of Nice to remove Israeli flags from the city hall's facade, ruling that the gesture was a political statement that contradicted the principle of neutrality in public services. The Administrative Court of Nice said that displaying the flag cannot be seen only as a "symbol of support for Israeli [captives] held by Hamas", but also as "support for the Israeli state and thus as an expression of political…
French Town Forced to Remove Israeli Flags, Mayor Replaces Them with Hostage Photos in Defiant Response
FRANCE – A town in southern France was ordered by an administrative court to take down Israeli flags displayed at its town hall, sparking a strong response from the mayor. Following the court’s decision, Mayor Christian Estrosi of Nice removed the flags but replaced them with images of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza as […]
There are no more Israeli flags on the front line of the town hall of Nice, in south-eastern France. Administrative justice has asked the mayor, Christian Estrosi, to withdraw them, Thursday, June 26th. These flags have been pavoising the town hall since Hamas' attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the anger of pro-Palestinian activists, at the origin of the legal action.
The City Councillor Daniele Nahum (Action): The Municipality must take initiatives against anti-Semitism. The indignation of politics, from right to left
The administrative tribunal acknowledged that the mayor, Christian Estrosi, intended to express "support" to the Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023. But according to the court, the evolution of the conflict means that this bulwark "must be seen as support for the Israeli state and therefore as the demand for a political opinion".
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